Hello gentlemen,
I have a spot that I frequent for bass fishing that holds some BIG crappie. I'm not a crappie fisherman usually, but I cuaght one this past summer that was the length of the width of my shoulders (6'3" tall 280lbs). I'll share this spot with someone if they teach me how to catch crappie consistantly. Thanks.

How wide are your shoulders?

like to see a pic of that.... Once i find out how to catch crappie consistently , i will let ya know.....

6'3" 280 so about 26-30 inches?
New world record?

Go get 'em Dutch!

You catch that in Mountain Creek?

If I caught one that size I would quit fishin and just sit back and count my world record money...

INside of shoulders. We can call it the armpits

OK armpits? Now we're getting believable. I can stop trying to figure how how close to "Jaws" that shoulder width monster was.

Look, all I know is I had a minnow under a bobber at dusk. There were a couple of guys there that I started talking to and they asked "do you want to try some minnows?" because I had not caught any bass. I said sure. I looked out and the bobber disappeared. I set the hook and thought I had about a 2 pound bass on. Pulled it out and said holy S---! its a crappie!!?? And it was large. I can tell you I have not seen any pics of crappie on here that even come close. Believe it or dont believeit. I dont care.

I will teach you

Must not need any lessons if you can catch a 27 inch crappie who would?

It was a fluke genius. Read the post.

Way to make the greenhorn feel welcome....if I lived close to McKinney I'd teach you how little I know, saying that...I'd keep that spot secret! Lol hire a guide like Carey Thorn. He has forgotten more about creekin' Crappie, than any 3-4 guys combined will ever know! Anyway...good luck hope that helps...

Apprecate it Rowdy. I've read several things on here about jigs and so forth, just looking for a little input. Instead, my integrity gets called into question. That's ok though. I KNOW who I am and the values I live by.

I'm sending you a PM

just get in touch with Slabmesilly on this forum, pm him with your phone number; he can get you quality jigs and quality advice with no need to give away your secret spot; keep that for yourself and tease us with a pic now and then.

Best thing you can do is read all the info you can on finding crappie and fish with someone that knows what there doing that will share his knowledge. If you really want to speed up your learning curve then your money is best spent hiring a guide to teach you. Hire a full time guide that makes his living guiding, he should be able to teach you more than you can remember about crappie fishing.
Good Luck

I was going to suggest not leaving the house without and escort, but then I found the actual picture.





If your going to post a comment like that you have got to expect a little ribbing. Ha!

Seriously, just keep reading this forum. Lots of great folks and info. here. I have only been fishing Crappie for about 20 months. One thing is for sure, I don't have them figured out yet.

I have an extra tape measurer if you need one. I'm not sure what your measurement means

welcometo forum!

At dutch1947- I thought that was it but, that's not my truck.

At jeffyOrk13- it means it was large.

Just found the pic my buddy took of me with the fish. As soon as I figure out how to post it, I will.

gunner. Upload the photo to a site like Photobucket and then copy the "Share" link for the pic that begins with [img] and ends with [/img]

Will do. Iwas just reading the instructions. Thanks

Post a pic of your armpits too for reference

And when you find someone to teach you to catch crappie, show me how to do it too

Armpits are in pic. Standby. I'm working on it.

Hats off to ya, that's a good chunk of fish

There you go.

Nice fish and Welcome!

Welcome to the Forum. There are a bunch of guys on here that know how to catch crappie.

You could spend one day with a guide and acquire "years" of knowledge in a day or you can learn it piece meal like most of us did.

Either way it's a fun hobby and not nearly as competitive as bass fishing.

Just consider it takes 5 or 6 years for a crappie to grow to 2 pounds and it's easy to fish a "spot" out if your real aggresive.

Good Luck

That's a Nice White Crappie, but based on your original post, it really wasn't close to what I was expecting. Here is a couple pictures of White Crappie that exceed the armpits.






Here are a few examples of Black Crappie that exceed the arm pits. Inch for inch, Black Crappie seem to be much thicker and heavier.

geez Dutch who needs bass with crappie that big.. awesome !!!

Dang Dutch, you didn't have to stomp on him that hard. Those are some be-utiful specemins of the crappie family.

Now about learning to fish for crappie. It looks like your a bankin it kinda guy so my suggestion is to definately start with all of Carey Thorn's advice posted here. Start with post #1.

No worries, we really should make you feel more welcome as Dutch said.
Just some history, there are so many posts from folks who catch "17+ inch crappie" (18-20+) and three pound crappie that just don't materialize when put on a digital scale. Sometimes fisherman's eyes are misleading! NO!
Nobody in their right mind would question the integrity of an Army Vet, certainly not one who is 6'3" and 280!! :-)

I thought that was your buddies truck who took the pict. so it looks legit to me! Even if you post a picture, there are going to be 100 guesses as to what it weighs. Good Luck! :-)

The world record crappie, set in Kentucky, is:
Weight: 4 Pounds, 14 ounces
Length: 21.5 inches
Girth: 18 inches

I doubt that your fish set a new record.

Your shoulders must not be as broad as you thought.

M2gunner - First let me say again WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!!

But I do have a bone to pick with you. You said "I cuaght one this past summer that was the length of the width of my shoulders (6'3" tall 280lbs). I'll share this spot with someone if they teach me to catch crappie consistently".

You also posted: "I can tell you I have not seen any pics of crappie on here that even come close. Believe it or don't believe it".

I HAVE A SUGGESTION. Let's Start Over! Delete those posts because both those statements are just painfully and obviously wrong.

I will tell you how you can learn to consistently catch Crappie, and you won't even have to tell me where your Giant Crappie Hole is located.

First: Start reading this forum. Lavon has a good forum too. You can search for and get answers to all sorts of topics and questions on here.

Second: If you see a post by Carey Thorn, Wylie Crappie Man, Ernest Paty, Cliff Spindle, Chuck Rollins, Guy Skinner, Mathew Carrol, Sac alit Pat, JDSlabslayer, or Kieth Speer, READ IT! If you have a specific question, send them a PM. Most of the guides will answer your PM and give you some really useful information Totally Free! If I catch a bunch, I will usually post the Lake, the water temp, the depth we are catching them at, the color and weight of the jig, presentation technique, and general area we have been fishing. Just not the Coordinates.

Third: Everybody seems to have knot questions. Try videofishingknots.com it is a great site.

Fourth: If you want to learn fast, hire a guide. All of them run specials now and then. You could also join the Crappie Anglers of Texas (CAT). Most of the Guys there have forgotten more about Crappie Fishing than I will ever know. Good Folks!!! If you can't afford to go on a few guided trips, or if you would like to just do it yourself, there is absolutely no substitute for TOW. Even if you go on several guided trips, you will quickly find out that TOW is the key to consistently catching the little critters. TOW = Time on the Water! I promise, when you finally have them figured out, they change what they are doing and you will get skunked.

Once again-

Good post Dutch. TOW is the key to finding the fish.

Welcome to the site. lot's to learn in here and have a good time too.

M2Gunner; . Sorry things didn't start out really great on here. There's a bunch of really good people posting here that know a lot about crappie fishing. Crappie Anglers of Texas has already been mentioned as a good Club to join. They meet monthly in Carrollton. http://crappieanglersoftexas.com/ Lots of good information at the monthly meetings. And if you can't make the meetings, the meetings are taped and available on the website for members.

You can search previous posts on here by the names mentioned in Dutch's post and get a lot of good info. You live close to some good crappie lakes so shouldn't take too long to get keyed in on some good spots and methods.

And thanks for your service.

Hey Big Mack.
That is one ginormous signature! It's bigger than the crappie.
Are you proud of CAT and our sponsors or what?
See u at the meetings and LoP tourney.
(Just wanted to shift the razzing from the Army Vet.) :-)

Merry Christmas to all!

I think most of you think I'm upset about some coments. Really, I couldn't care less. Every post and response was read/written with a smile on my face. Thanks for all the good info. Merry Christmas too all and to all great fishing.

THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!! and welcome to the forum.,.

Well then, here's one more. You must be from up north, 'cause here in Texas we call that a good 'keeper' crappie. :-)

It's a big one for sure. I hope you catch 100 more.
Thank you for your service!

Not from up north. I'm from San Angelo. Born and raised Texan. Born and raised BASS fisherman and hunter of Whitetail Deer. Crappie, not so much. I hope I catch 100 more too! I was truly shocked when I landed that fish. Hopefully I can take some of this information and put it to use.

Hey thanks from one vet to another, hey you should get to know your neighbors Dutch1947 is good people,in doing so he will save you a lot of heartache and disappointment we wouldn't want to run you back to Bass fishing, as with bass fishing and such and being in a Artillery unit you are expected to know the obvious.

to the forum and THANKS for your service. Ole Dutch is a real good guy and posts good information. He gets to fish all the time being retired Air Force and all. Dutch thanks for your service too! Merry Christmas all.

Actually we haven't given you much real advice. we were all too busy giving you a hard time about the size of your fish.

Since you know where the Crappie are you should concentrate on rigging and presentation.

Use 1/32 ounce or 1/16 ounce jigs in chartreuse or other bright colors fished on an ultralight rig. The crappie should be in 14 feet of water or so. Fish the jig by holding it as still as you can - no jerking it up and down. Concentrate, and when you feel the slightest thump or see line movement raise the rod to set the hook.

An alternate bait is a pink 1/16 ounce jig head with a Panfish Assassin in the smallest size. The most popular color is called the Electric Chicken. A black jig head with a chartreuse Panfish Assassin works well too. Hold it still.

If you use a bobber rig it as a slip float. The 7/8 inch Thill premium balsa bobber is best. Set it for about 14 feet to start. The gentle bobbing motion of the waves will give the jig its action. It will not work well if there is too much wind.

Minnows on a #2 gold Aberdeen hook work well this time of year. Use the smallest size.

Welcome home from the wars. Give me a PM if I can help.

I use a #6 Eagle Claw for minnows although i havent fished minnows for crappie in maybe 20 yrs. Smallest minnows you can buy in the winter, for deep water summer crappie, medium to large minnows are unbeatable for live bait.

For Jigs, when vertical fishing, i use the "finger through the line technique. Jig goes to the bottom, and then the line "feathers" through my "trigger finger" as I pull away from the rod, slowly extending arm. Crappie will kill it on a slow rise like that! But the best thing about it is that if a crappie even "sniffs" at the jig, you can feel it! Contact with line virtually 100% of the time, and makes it so easy to set hook it's ridiculous! Tarponfly and HereFishy saw me doing this one day on Tarponfly's boat, and can attest to its effectiveness! Herefishy now has added that technique to his arsenal, Tarponfly is so good at what he does, he doesn't need it, LOL.

Jig/bobber--cheap cigar bobbers from WalMart are excellent. Buy the linestops, set your depths, tie jig and you are good to go. When fishing from bank, a slow "twitch" method is DEADLY. Cast, let jig settle, twitch and take up slack, let sit, twitch take up slack, watch bobber stand up, slide off, or suddenly disappear, set hook, reel in fish, string up! Repeat till limit is reached.

Colors don't matter, but size does. In cold water/weather, the smaller the better. 1/32-1/16th oz/1/48th, even 1/64th oz jig heads. In summer and warmer weather, bigger jig heads work great.

Hope this helps.

Rudy

M2gunner: Check that PM. It's that little red and white flashing envelope thingy. I'll be happy to help you any way i can. Keep your hook wet!

Ummmmm did we forget the Crappie 101 DVD?!?!?!? Get it! Watch it! Live it! Don't doubt it! Best crappie DVD out there. Not generalizations on patterns and blah blah blah. It's real specific advice in a lecture/demonstration format. You should be able to order it still. I'm sure some guys can tell you where, or you could ask Ernest Paty who made it.

thanks for your service,stay on forum,& welcome

Welcome to the forum... Still need help, pm me anytime..
Last but not least, thank you for your service!!!

M2gunner first of all, Thanks For Your Service. I used to fish for bass exclusively but made the switch to crappie fishing in order to get my son hooked on fishing. If you had success in bass fishing you will do well crappie fishing. For me, locating crappie is very similar to locating bass since most of my bass fishing was done throwing a jig and worm. Crappie and bass seasonal patterns are similar and they both like cover. Fish for crappie in some of the same areas you fished for bass. Difference being think smaller and fish slower. Small baits, smaller tackle especially when fishing a jig (1/32 to 1/16 oz jig--I actually remove some of the marabou feathers to make it even smaller). Use light XL (extra limp) line and light to medium action rod so as to feel a 1/32 oz jig or minnow on the end of the rod. No need for an expensive reel, I prefer a small spinning reel (around 6 oz in weigh--very little chunking and winding for me when crappie fishing). The key is to get a good balanced rod and reel to help you feel the light thump or no longer feeling the weight of the jig or minnow that comes from a crappie bite. Once you master the bite difference between a bass and crappie you will be on your way to some good crappie adventures. Also remember to slow down your presentation, twitch a jig don't jerk it. Pay attention to where you locate the first crappie, others will follow the same pattern. In my opinion a bass will move a longer distance to take a bait, so your bait presentation will need to become more accurate when crappie fishing Not unusual to catch a bunch of crappie in an area several times the size of your boat. You will save gas crappie fishing and you will be a happier fisherman at the end of the day. No one will give you a hard time if you decide to eat your catch. By the way, my son picked up jig fishing at age 5. If you fish it enough, so will you. Welcome to the good side of a wonderful fishing life.